Something to Fight For
by Bec.Be.Beck
Summary: After all they been through, everything they done. It wasn't for nothing. But yet they cross some paths down the road- both good and bad. Two new people shown up in their lives: a woman and a teenage girl around Ellie's age. Everyone one has secrets to hide. Deep dark secrets. Even though they all start to go downhill, but no matter what, they have something to fight for.
1. Prologue

**AN: How's it going bros? I'm doing fine, great even LOL XD So…I'm gonna try to make a full legit story bros. But that's the thing, I feel like that…I'm not even gonna finish the damn thing. But, I'll try; IDEK how long each update would be up but I'll write and post each one as quick as I can. I know this may seem familiar, which it already is…but I want to make it long enough for you bros to get interested AND I can add a little something after that the whole, big…cutscene, so it'll go smoothly. So, here's the prologue to my story, Hope you bros like it ;)**

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Prologue

The car suddenly stops; the engine gave way and the battery died out. Joel got out of the car checking to see if he can bring the car back to life but it didn't do anything good. But the car really didn't matter anymore; they were close to Tommy's, so it isn't so much of a problem than Joel suspected.

He closed the door hinge and walks over to Ellie, her right sleeve rolled up to her elbows, touching the bumpy, dead skin on her arm. As she looks down, she seems so lost, like if she's thinking of an old memory that put her through hell with this damn bite in the first place.

"Well", Joel walks to her, making himself known. "Looks like we're walking."

She looks up at him, rolling down her sleeve to cover up her bite mark. She slid off the driver's seat and shuts the door.

"Should be a straight shot through here", he calls out. He points over to the wired fence.

"Alright", she murmurs.

As they were walking, Ellie seems to wonder off in her mind, thinking about the things that now had occurred. She thought more about Joel and the Fireflies but she knew something was off. How could she not question the obvious? Like when she woke up back in the car with a hospital gown with a splitting headache. Even when she asked him what happened, she knew something was up. Just the way he wouldn't look at her and how he became nervous and stuttered a bit.

"Actually kinda pretty, ain't it?" He questions her.

She snaps out of it, a bit hesitant before she response back.

"Yeah"

Joel was holding the wires for her, so she can get through more easily.

"Now watch your head going through", he said with caution as he sees her step through.

She made on the other side, now helping her old companion get through.

"Here", she said, holding down the wire. "Got it."

She watches him go through, making a long groaning sound as he straightens back. He felt his bones crack and his muscle loosen.

"Feelin' my age now", he said with a smirk, making Ellie huff and rolls her eyes.

They continued to walk, so did Ellie mind, wondering away. She knew something was up. She knew that he's lying to her. Everything he told her that day, it was complete utter bullshit. Well yeah, there may be people like her but are they really? It's not there's a line a people ready to get their head cut open to help this cause. Hell, maybe this cure thing didn't work. But she doesn't know that, maybe it would've.

"Don't think I ever told you this but Sarah and I used to take hikes like this", Joel admits.

Once again, it caught Ellie's attention. She was falling behind a bit, so she starts to jog up next to him.

"I think ah…I think the two of you would've been good friends", he admits with a bit of sadness in his voice. "Think you really woulda liked her. I know she woulda liked you."

"I bet I would've", she said with a sad, fond smile on her freckled face.

She climbs up onto a steep hill, finally catch up to the now amazed Joel looking over the settlement.

"Wow", he pointed out. "Look down there."

He continued to jog down the hill at a slow pace. Ellie, on the other hand, still stand there over the horizon. She was amazed of what she saw, seeing many cabins with a lot of people walking around like there is nothing to worry about. It just blew her away.

She looks down at Joel, almost reaching to the bottom of the hill, jogging down to him.

"Just a little bit further now", he states, walking through the stream.

Ellie follows his lead, until she walks up to Joel, who is now looking up at the ledge. He got up over the log and took a big leap up to the ledge. As he does so, the log broke off and almost made Joel loose his grip.

"Oh shit!" He screams out.

He uses his upper body strength to pull himself up successfully. It was a bit of a problem; Ellie can't get up on her own, but he doesn't mind helping her up. She gets on top of the log, looking up at him, reaching down to her.

"Here, I got you", he calls out. "C'mon, gimme your hand."

She jumps up, successfully grabbing his hand. He starts to pull her up while she uses some of her upper body strength to pull herself up. Both of them help each other out until they finally got her up, which was a success.

Ellie wipes off the sweat and dirt from her palms on to her old, ragged skinny jeans. She also adjusts the straps on her backpack before they head off.

"Alright come on", Joel gestures to her, now starting to walk away.

Something stopped her from moving, having that feeling building up in her chest again-guilt. She doesn't know why but she feels that way. Maybe it was because of not giving herself up for the world. Maybe it because she felt like she should've turn just like everyone else. What makes her so special like any other person? She doesn't know; she doesn't want to be special. It's not like she ask for this, any of this. She feels bad, not just for herself, but others. Like Tess and Sam, and Riley. Riley. She was there when she got bit; both of them were. So every time she looks at her bite mark, it always is a sad, constant reminder of what happened that summer day with Riley and her. Maybe that's why it's her fault. Because of her, she couldn't do anything to stop it. Maybe, maybe it's time…to let it out.

"Hey, wait", Ellie calls out.

Joel stops from his tracks and turns back around, walking up to the girl slowly.

She looks up into his eyes, ready to say it but it wouldn't form. She grabs her ring finger and rubs it, for her comfort. She felt lost, like she's drifting off to a whole other place. She shook it off, walking away from him for a moment, to make her more confident and then let it out.

She turns back around. Her back was straighter, standing up tall for her sake, to be confident. She looks into his eyes, with so much boldness and power. She was ready, to let it out.

"Back in Boston, back where I was bitten", she states out. "I wasn't alone". She shook her head back and forth. "My best friend was there, and she got bit too." She raises her arms out a bit. "We didn't know what to do." Her eyes left him, wondering off on her own, thinking back on what happened that day. "So, she says…"Let's just way it out. Y'know we can be poetic and lose our minds together"…I'm still waiting for my turn."

"Ellie", Joel softly calls out to her, now feeling bad for what she's has been through.

"Her name was Riley and she was the first to die", chocking up a bit. "And then it was Tess…and then Sam."

"None of that is on you," he says, crossing his arms.

"No, you don't understand," she says, whimpering a bit.

"I struggled a long time with survivin'", he points out. "And you…"

He drifts off, looking down at his broken watch that Sarah gave him for his 28th birthday 20 years ago. It was constant reminder of what happened that tragic day but yet Ellie reminds him of Sarah, giving back his humanity and hope.

He shakes it off before continuing.

"No matter what", he says looking up at her. "You keep finding something to fight for."

Ellie huffs out a stressful sigh. Her eyes were closed, her back hunched over, and now shaking her head a bit, like what he said was ridiculous.

"Now I know that's not what you want to hear right now but it's-"

"Swear to me."

Her statement was bold and powerful. She'd never hesitated at the slightest. It's enough for her, but she needs to know. She needs from him if everything he'd said was true. It was now or never.

"Swear to me that everything that you said about the Fireflies is true."

He shifts awkwardly, taking him a moment before speaking one more, bold and confident.

"I swear."

She looks up at him with her green, sparkling eyes. She looks away from him for a moment, thinking to herself.

"_I think he's lying. Straight to my face, you sick bastard." Ellie thought. "Just the way he hesitates, taking a while to answer me. He can't keep even look in my damn eyes when he said it!"_

She closes her eyes and left a heavy huff, keeping her cool.

"_Alright, I'll give time", she thought. "If he says something that I didn't say, I'm mentioning it to him. One way or another."_

"Okay", was all she said, shaking her head in satisfaction.

She walks off away from him, never looking back. Joel's eyes fallen back from Ellie, feeling bad about lying to her, back driving away from Salt Lake City and even now. Just the way she looked into his eye, he felt his heart shattered. Maybe she knew; he hopes not. Even though she's a smart, mature teenage girl to figure things out on her own, he stills feels she's not ready for the truth.

"_One day", he thought. "When you're old enough, I'll tell you the truth. I'll tell you everything."_

He looks back down at his broken watch, caressing it with his thumb. He felt the crack glass beneath his thumb, rubbing the dirty face. Beneath the dirt and grime, the glass reflects, seeing his dark salt-n-pepper hair and his wrinkles and bags under his eyes. He looks back at Ellie; she now reached the bottom of the hill.

"Ellie, stop!" Joel calling out from the top of the hill down. "Wait for me!"

Ellie slows down her pace and turns around slowly, without a care in the world. She sees him jogging down the steep him, being careful not to lose his balance and fall because of the so many rocks and holes. She waits for him anyway.

"What?" She said carelessly. "I'm right here", throwing her out.

He finally caught up to her. Not of because he's a little irritable for her carelessness walking alone but he was starting to get concerned about her. Even from the car drive here, he noticed her changed: she wasn't as talkative like she was, becoming more distant and less happy, and hell, she's isn't cracking stupid puns with that joke book of hers. He missed that, despite the fact it annoyed the hell out of him, he missed seeing her smile and laughing away. But goddammit, that isn't simple.

"I know just…don't wonder off like that", Joel said softly. "Who knows what's out there? Someone or something can pop out of nowhere. "

"_Infected, bandits…Psychopaths who eat people and prey on small, innocent children", Ellie darkly thought._

She shivered at that though, quickly burying it down inside her before it gets worse. She shook her head, turns around slowly, walking toward the tall, well-protected wall. To be honest, she doesn't feel like talking. Her body is full of fatigue and stress; she just so damn tired, like she could sleep for years.

Joel was about to stop her once more, but quickly shut it mouth, knowing it was useless talking to her in this state. His eyes closed for a moment, leaving out a heavy sigh before continuing following her to the settlement.

They both finally made it to the wall, staring at a tall door made out of strong material 20 feet high up as the rest of the wall continue to surround the settlement.

Joel saw a large handle on the door, figuring he can get inside using that. He looks at Ellie, who is surprisingly staring back at him, shrugging a bit. He walks up to the tall door, ready to pull the handle.

"Hey!" A male's voice screams down at them. "Get back from the wall now!"

Both of them jumped from the unexpected outburst. Joel remains cool but Ellie, on the other, immediately react by pulling her pistol out, pointing it straight up at him.

"Tell the kid to drop it now!" He readjusts his rifle, getting a better aim if one of them does something stupid.

"Ellie", Joel sternly told her. "Do as the man says." Now looking at her with full of seriousness.

"Okay", she says, holding her gun in the air.

"State your business", the male, around his mid-50's, said with a stern voice.

"We just came here to see Tommy and Maria, trying to find a place to live", Joel said.

"Why?" He asks with suspicion, raising his eyebrow at him. "How do you know them?"

"Tommy's my brother", he explains to the ill-tempered man. "We we're here last fall to talk care of certain things."

The man lowers his rifle a bit. He may recognize him when the bandits attacked the plant last year. But he wasn't quite sure. He put his rifle off the side for a moment, reaching for his walkie-talkie in his front pocket. He brought the large, black walkie-talkie to his mouth, clearing his throat.

"Hey Tommy", the male said, his deep voice a bit strain from yelling earlier.

"Yeah?" Tommy calls on the other line.

"Some people are here to see you, saying that he's your brother."

It was quiet on the end for a moment, before speaking again.

"Alright, I'm on my way", he say, now checking out.

The man puts his large, black walkie-talkie back in his front pocket.

"He said he's on his way", the man said. "Wait a minute or two, will ya?"

He grabs his rifle, which was slouched over his shoulder, and holds his weapon with a tight grip; now he's slowing walking way, keeping a sharp eye on the two yet guarding the perimeter.

"The guy has a fucking…stick up his ass", Ellie said, putting her pistol back in her back pocket.

"Just be happy that he wasn't shooting at us," Joel looks over to her, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah", she mumbles.

She bit the inside of her check, now looking at the ground and her dirty black converse. He looks at her with concern once more, shifting his feet as he now cross his arms.

"Is there a problem?" Joel questions her.

Ellie looks up at him, eye to eye with her eyebrow raised.

"What do you mean?"

"You just", he said. "You just seem quieter than usual."

"Am I always?" She says sarcastically yet kind of teasing, smirking a bit but then faded quickly.

"Ellie", he sighs out, uncrossing his arms, stepping toward her a bit as if he's reaching out to her. "If it's about what happened back there…the um, Fireflies…I me-"

"Joel", Ellie raised her voice a bit, holding a hand out in front of him. "I'm just…I'm just really tired, okay?"

"Yeah…okay…"he mumbles out under his breath, thinking now it's best to leave her be.

Their attention was caught by the big, large door swinging open. As the door opens up further, they both can see Tommy and Maria, walking calmly with their weapons on their holsters, with a sincere and relieve smile on their face.

"God damn", Tommy murmurs, with a satisfied smile on his face. "I was thinking when you two would get back."

Both brothers walk up to each and have an on-and-on embrace, hugging each other like if it was the first time seeing each other again.

"And look at that", Tommy pulls back. "You still got older when I'd last seen ya."

"Hey, what did I say about taking it easy", Joel chuckles; he lightly punch his baby brother's shoulder.

His eyes are now fallen on to his sister-in-law Maria. Even though she is his sister and friendly, he is still kind of afraid of her

"M'am", He rubs the back of his neck. "How you've been doin'?"

"Better than ever I guess", Maria replies back, smirking. "Why you address me as m'am? Are you afraid of me or something?"

"Uh…"Joel awkwardly states. "…maybe a little…"

"Good", she smirks once more. "That'll keep you in line for taking him away from me." She's now gesturing at Tommy, grinning to him and back at Joel.

Ellie looks at Maria and Joel, biting her bottom lip, to hold back a grin forming on her freckled face. Maria notices her, now smiling at her.

"Ellie, how you doing?" She said smiling fondly at her.

"Uh…better than the last time I was here I guess", she said smirking a bit.

Maria smiles at the girl, looking over at her husband and her brother.

"I think it's time to head back inside", Maria lays her hand on Tommy's forearm.

"Yeah, come on", gesturing the two inside the settlement. "We'll find you two a place and about an hour or two, we and the town can celebrate for your return home."

Ellie was astonished, her mouth dropped open a bit, can't even believe what she was hearing.

"A home?" She perks up. "Celebration?!"

"I thought you were tired?" Joel said with amusement.

"Not anymore!" She said running off through the door.

The three adults finds her childlike innocent to be amusing.

"She's a weird kid but she is something", Joel said, smiling at her and her happiness.

All three of the adults walk through the door, closing the tall door, finally going to a place where Joel and Ellie can call home.

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**AN: OMFG, after all this time (mainly the last 2 days) this was exciting to write. Even though bros, you may recognize one part of the game. (May? That's outrageous man, the bros know XD)but it would help my writing skills. Plus, if I just went straight to my "creative" part of the prologue , it wouldn't be long. I wouldn't be satisfied with it. Nope. Shut up, I'm picky like that! DON'T JUDGE ME!" LOL XD You bros should be happy that I wrote this, it's 2:18 in the morning! On a school night! And I didn't even take a shower yet! OMFG, that's outrageous! So, since I care about you bros over my precious sleep…your welcome ;) Well, bros, I better go. I gotta take care of things and head off to bed. Bye! :D *brofist***


	2. New Beginnings with New Faces

**AN: Hey, how's it going bros? I'm feeling…tired. Like, dead tired. Y'know, I didn't went to bed until like 3:30 in the morning and I overslept a bit and my mom was like, "Hey Beck, are you up?" And I was just out there. Full of adrenaline and ready to get ready to go to hell (School is hell). So I'm like, "I'm not tired at all and now I'm sitting here in 1****st**** period study hall, I'm just out. I feel like I'm ready to fall asleep. Ugh, I wanna go home and sleep in until like noon. But, oh well, I'll pull through **** Note to self for the future, don't work late on a school night LOL XD BTW, this story was originally gonna be called something else, something like "A Beginning to the End" IDK. So when I fixing some mistakes from my stories (which is a shocker), when Joel said, "You got to find something to fight for." I'm like, "That's it. That's gotta be the title." #satisfied :P So not to confuse you bros, the prologue will jump 3 months later. Since it was about the end of April, this chapter is around mid-July. Hooray for hot weather! :D Also, this is where my OC's come into play. So you're gonna be seeing them! XD Holy shit, my AN is long…I better cut it right to the story, yeah? :3 So bros, here is chapter 1 of my fabulous story. ;)**

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Chapter 1: New Beginnings with New Faces

Ever since Joel and Ellie arrived back to Tommy's, life has been getting better. Not just for Joel, but for Ellie, Ellie got a lot better. The quiet, distant girl started to fade away and now becoming to her old self again. She was making sarcastic remarks like she used to do, pointing things that she questions about the world before the outbreak, and she made new friends when they'd arrived there since day one. And let's not forget about her and that damn joke book.

Last week, Joel and a couple of other guy raid a nearby town to look for can goods and supplies. He somehow found the joke book lying on top of an old, dusty kitchen cover. It was pretty noticeable, despite it was in dust and coffee stains, for the cover being bright and colorful, with a yellow duck on it, and having big, funky letters on the front saying, "Shut the Duck Up and Quack It Off!". It was volume 3 of the 2 books she still has; this will make a surprise for her.

As of right now, they're both sitting in the kitchen. Joel leaning back on his chair, arms crossed, with his feet up on the table. He was watching Ellie, who is on the table, kicking her feet back and forth, giggling as she found another joke.

"Okay, I found a good one!" She looks over at him, full of amusement.

Joel raised his eyebrow at her, smirking up at her, shaking his head.

"How come every time you say that, it ends up being terrible?"

"Hey they are not terrible", she said pointing a finger at him. "Not all of them at least, but hear me out."

Joel closes his eyes, sighing, shaking his head back and forth.

"Alright", he sighs out. "Whatcha got?"

"Yes!" She exclaims, her eyes very wide and vibrant with a large smile on her face. "Okay, um…What is the difference between a nicely dressed man on a tricycle and a poorly dressed man on a bicycle?"

She raises her eyebrow at him, waiting patiently for his answer. She tries to suppress her giggle and goofy looking grins. She is enjoying this little moment and she is pretty sure that he is too.

"I don't know what?" Joel said with a faint smile appears behind his scruffy beard.

"A tire", she giggles out loud.

Joel rolls his eyes at her as he lets a long, exaggerating sigh. He sees her flipping more pages in that pun book of hers.

"Don't tell me you're gonna read another one?" Joel playfully wines out.

"Yes I am, mister!" Playfully playing back. "Quit your wining, you're worse than me."

"Oh really?" He said with a smirk. "Saids the person that wanted bacon instead of sausage the other day."

"I wasn't wining!" She points out. "I was simply objecting with the whole sausage idea!"

"Mmhm, I guess I grew up with a different definition then."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She raises her eyebrow at him, bookmarking her page with the tip of her fingers.

"Here's the way I see it kid", he took his feet off of the table, now leaning on the table. "I ask you if you want any of the two and you said, "I don't care, just make it." By the time the food was ready, I called you down to eat and you came down with a hissy-fit about it."

"Hey, I thought you knew me well enough that I prefer bacon over anything", she sighs out.

She looks away from him and opens back her joke book. She looks back up with a slight grin on her face.

"Just be happy that you got your own plate of sausages to yourself."

He chuckles at her comment. "Well just for the future, just tell me before I actually cook it."

"Yes sir", she said with a fake southern accent.

He sighs as he rubs his eyes with his forefinger and thumb, slightly chuckling under his breath.

"I used to be a banker", she reads out, looking at Joel and back. "Then I lost interest."

"That's awful", he said chuckling.

"You're awful", she comes back playfully.

"Do you have any idea what that means?" He questions her.

"Nope", she said confidently. "Doesn't matter."

Joel starts to tap on the wooden table rhythmically. He was thinking about something. He was thinking of a joke that he can pull off. One came to mind; one that he used to tell Sarah when she was little.

"Alright, little lady", he said probing his elbows on the table. "I got a joke for you."

"You, with a joke?" Ellie said sarcastically. "Ha, that's funny already."

"No, no, no, hear me out", he said putting his hand in the air. He clears his throat before continuing on. "I really didn't like my beard at first but then it grew on me."

He starts to stroke his beard, to add more effect. Ellie gave him a weird look at first but then turned into giggles and laughing out loud.

"Okay, you got me", she said laughing out loud. "That was good."

"See, I told you it was funny", Joel chuckles, mentally high-fiving himself.

"That's the good part", she said, wiping the corner of her eye out. "Your joke didn't completely suck."

"Hold on", Joel stopping her. "Are you telling me it was bad?"

"Oh it wasn't just bad", she looks over on her left side and sees an old, crumpled up paper on the table. She picks it up, showing it to Joel, and rips it in half. "It was tear-ible!"

Joel scuffs playfully as he watches her break down in laughter once again. It was his opportunity to take drastic measures. He reaches out to her and pokes her sides, making her squeal and squirm violently. Ellie quickly swats his hand away from her side, now looking at him, trying to display a serious face.

"Don't make me go ninja on your ass!"

She raises her arms high, in front of her. Her serious face starts to twitch and once again broke out in a large, goofy grin. She swings her legs back and forth off the table.

"Alright, that's enough for the day", Joel smiles up at her. "Put that thing away."

She rolls her eyes at him, but she happily obligates to his request. She leans over and grabs her opened backpack. She throws it in her bag and zips it up, setting it back on the wooden chair. She lets out a huff, turning back to him.

"Are we gonna do anything today?" She questions him.

"I don't know, nothing I guess", he replies back. "Why? What do you wanna do?"

"Like…I don't know, get out of the house", she said hopping the table. "And what I mean by out of the house, I mean…outside the settlement, outside the wall."

"Why on earth you wanna do that?"

"Because", she explains. She walks over to the counter and leans against it. "Joel, I've been stuck here for three months. Three months! That's way too long. Even last week, when I ask you if I can go with you and the other to find supplies, you wouldn't let me. And I think that was bullshit. It really was. "

He sees her back start to slouch, crossing her arms in front of him. She was right, she is right about being stuck here and the right to go out of the settlement. It scares him. The only reason why he doesn't allow her to go out is because she might get hurt, when it from something or someone, he is always afraid of what is going to hurt her. She has been through hell this whole time. She should feel like kid that she had always been and be protected by love ones in a safe, caring environment and not worry about the cruel world.

"Look", she said straightening up. "I know you're doing this to protect me. I appreciate it, I really do. But…I worry about you too."

"Ellie"

"What happens to you when I'm not around? Huh? What if you get bit or shot or something? Then what? Then I feel like it's my fault for not going with you", she whimpers.

"Ellie, don't talk like that" he said, reaching out to her.

"No, it's true!" She raises her voice. "Seriously, what if I'm not there to take cover for you? We cover for each other and it's going to stay that way! I'm not gonna sit back here when you get hurt out there only because you told me to!"

She left out a huff through her nose, trying to calm down and not to shout any louder as she is right now. She looks down at the ground, looking at her dirty, black converse, eyeing at the once white shoe laces. As this moment feels like forever, she looks up at him, finally calm.

"Joel just…next time when you go out…"she said uncrossing her arms. "I'm going with you."

Joel was about to say something more but she held her hand up in front of him.

"Before you say anything else", she said being calm and rational. "I'm not doing this to get out and run off and get hurt, I'm just doing this for your sake. Because…I care, about you and…I…yeah…"

Her voice falters and fades away, looking away from the now shocked Joel. He can't believe what he just heard. She admits that she cares about him and that she doesn't want her to her to hear that he got hurt. She was right, about not leaving her here and covering for him like he does for her. He felt his chest swell up and break at the same time. But her explanation persuaded him for now on that he was taking her with him, and now thought of a good idea to cheer her up.

He gets up from his seat and walks out of the kitchen and out into the living room. It caught Ellie's attention real quick.

"Joel?" She questions him, following him.

She sees him go by the door and pick up his backpack, pulling it over his shoulders.

"What'a you doing?" Ellie isn't sure where this is leading to.

"I figure ah, you and I, should go on out and go on a hike", Joel smiling fondly at her.

Ellie green eyes widen; she can't even believe what she is hearing.

"Are you serious?" She questions with a bit of excitement in her voice.

"Mmhm, serious", he said. "Go get your backpack and bring your bow and arrows, we'll try to get somethin'."

"Like a rabbit?" She starting to show her smile, her eyes sparkling as feels her toes squirm in her shoes.

"Whatever you want kiddo", he said walking up to her with a sincere smile. "C'mon, get your stuff, time's a wastin'."

"Yes!" She exclaims, giving the biggest, strongest bear hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

She immediately runs up the steps to her rooms to retrieves her bow and arrows. As she does, he took his shot gun and revolver and reloads them with new bullets. Once everything was ready to go, he put his pistol and shot gun on his holsters and sees the excited Ellie, her backpack on with her bow and arrows and her trusty pistol loaded and now already to go.

"I guess you're ready then", Joel smirks at her.

"Hell yeah, I've been waiting for you for like…two minutes or whatever", Ellie happily said.

"Alright kid, let's go", he said walking over to the door. "But, before we go, we gotta make a quick trip to Tommy's and tells him where we're goin'. I don't want him complaining where the hell we went."

"Fine", she huffs out an exaggerating sigh. "And then we can go after that right?"

"Yeah", he said opening the front door. "Let's get outta here."

He lets Ellie out the door first before letting himself out, shutting the door behind him.

**~T~L~O~U~**

As Joel was inside Tommy's and Maria's house, Ellie sat on their front porch steps, waiting for him to come out. She probes her right elbow on her right knee, humming a tune stuck in her head as she taps her fingers on the side of her chin.

She hears the screen door open behind, seeing Joel walking out with a satisfied smile on his face. She smiles up at him as he passed her down the steps.

"I guess things when out smoothly huh?" She questions with amusement in her voice.

"Yeah," he said looking at her. "It's alright with him, all he just say not to wonder too far out and keep an eye out on anything that's suspicious."

"So we're ready then?" Ellie said, now standing up.

"Yeah", he nods down at her, pulling her up.

"Alright", she said with satisfaction. "Let's go!"

She starts to run ahead of him; she later slows down, waiting for the calm Joel walking ten feet behind her.

"Come on, time's a wasting!" She shouts, waving over to Joel.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'", he chuckles, now jogging up to her.

Both Joel and Ellie walk side by side together. It was a real good day for him. The sun is shining as there is a decent, summer breeze blowing in their face. Something about this moment made it special; it was a very fond moment for the both of them. Joel wraps his arm around her, pulling her close to his side as they walk.

"I bet you I can get a deer", Ellie said with a grin.

"That a fact?" He said looking down at her.

"Yeah", she smiles.

"Ha", he chuckles. "Not to bring your hopes down or anything but I highly doubt that would happen. The luckiest thing you might get is a good- lookin' size rabbit."

"Alright, I'll make a deal with you", she said with confidence, looking up at him with bright eyes. "If I get a deer…you gotta make me whatever I want for the rest of the week."

"And what do I get if you don't?" Joel raises his eyebrow.

"Um", she said deep in thought. "I don't know, you can choose…I guess."

Once the words came off of her lips, she immediately regrets it. She now sees the satisfied old geezer, lost in thought. Then looks down at her with an ear-to-ear grin. She slowly leans away from him.

"Then you gotta do the laundry."

"That isn't so bad", she lightly chuckles.

"You're not just doing your clothes", he said leaning closer. "You're doin' mine too."

She immediately unwrap his arm around her.

"Ew!" She wines. "That's nasty! I don't wanna touch your clothes, just…no!"

"Then I guess someone won't have her food-of-choice for the week", he said teasingly.

"_Maybe this bet is a good idea", she thought. "A bet that I'll choose whatever kind of food or do both of our laundry. I'm not gonna wuss out for not…touching his boxers, or whatever the hell he calls them. It could've been worse. He could've made me sing and play the guitar in front of everyone."_

"You're on!" Ellie said confidently. "But I'm still totally gonna win."

"Haha, I doubt it", Joel chuckles.

"Okay, old man, don't push it", she said grinning.

He gave her a teasing look when she called him old man. He chuckles as he tries to reach out for her sides to tickle her. She squeals and runs up to the big, large door ahead of them, with Joel walking behind.

"We'll be heading out for a little while!" Joel yells up at Art, who is on patrol at the moment.

"Alright, have a good time!" Art yells back. "Don't wonder out too far!"

"We won't!"

Joel gives him a quick thumbs up, Art giving one back. Joel pushes the door open, Ellie helping as well. Before they know it, they we're walking away from the settlement, starting a new adventure for the both of them.

**~T~L~O~U~**

The two companions walked through the beautiful, evergreen forest full of life. All around them, they can see everything that came to life. The flowers bloom, the animals roaming around, and the birds soaring through the clear, open skies above them.

Even though they see squirrels and rabbits running around them, there was no hope for Ellie and her deer. She was starting to get 5

"Goddammit", Ellie mumbles. "All I see is squirrels and fucking rabbits! There's no deer!"

"Ellie you need patience", Joel said. "One will eventually show up."

She turns around, lowering her bow, staring at Joel. Joel was sitting on a log, playing on a long strand of grass.

"Oh yeah, said the person who is making fucking noises with a damn piece of grass", Ellie said unamused. "You're the reason why you scare them off in the first place!"

"Oh I'm sorry", he said sarcastically. "I didn't mean to ruin your little hunting trip."

"No you're not", she objects. "You're just doing it so I can lose and do your damn, stinking laundry."

"No I'm not", he said with an ear-to-ear grin.

She mouths 'fuck you' to him as she gives him the bird, but she smiles anyway.

"You gotta teach me how to do that sometime", Ellie said, pointing out to the stand of grass in his hand.

"What this?" Joel said, holding the strand in front of her.

"Yeah", she said fondly.

She reaches out to him and takes the strand of grass away from him. She took the tip of the grass and rips it down the middle, smirking as she does so.

"Hey why you do that?" Joel said chuckling.

"Someone has to end this madness", she giggles with a genuine smile.

At that moment, something moves in the bushes, being quite noticeable. It was definitely too small to be a bear but yet it was too large to be a squirrel or rabbit. This may be Ellie's chance of catching a deer.

Both Joel and Ellie got into action and crouched down, keeping their heads low and their ears open. Ellie gets ready to load up her bow with a sharp arrow. As she was about to make a shot as the figure appear, they heard something from behind. Joel's neck snaps into the direction that he was previously. Something wasn't right. He has a gut feeling about it.

"Joel I don't think that's a deer", Ellie whispers to him. "Is there infected out here."

"No infected don't hide", Joel whispers back.

They heard something ahead of them, like if someone threw a rock and then hit a tree. Joel notices bit of movements ahead of him. He's gonna check it out this something, or someone, and then end it.

He motions Ellie to stay here, giving him a nod in satisfaction. He continues to be crouched down as slowly moves forward to the tree, full of shrubs vines. He grabs a shiv out of his back pocket, just in case it attacks. As he finally made it to the trunk of the tree, he got up and leans against it. He starts to tighten his grip on his shiv, giving him a moment before springing into action. He quickly jumps around the tree, seeing nothing in his surroundings. Even though nothing is there, he still has a bad feeling about this.

"Joel, behind you!" Ellie screams.

Joel quickly turns around; someone was charging at him a full speed with a pipe. Before the figure swings at him, he moves out the figure's way, missing the hit completely. He tightens his left fist, the figure's collar and punches him in the face. The figure drops to the ground, giving the perfect opportunity to end it once and for all. He then reaches out and grabs the pipe, gripping it tight in his hand.

There was a gunshot; someone shot Joel in his left shoulder, knocking him off his feet. He gets up to look who shot him. His eyes adjusted and sees him, or her actually. The person holding the gun was a teenage girl, who is gritting her teeth with a nasty look on her face.

The girl was no older than Ellie. She seems to be around 5'5, a couple inches taller than Ellie. She's wearing a dark gray cami covered by a loose faded yellow tank top slim yet slightly curved body. The teen is wearing ripped skinny jeans with light grey socks over them that went well with her dark brown, leather boots. She has dark brown hair that is a bit wavy as one strand flows across her face. Out of all the things that he noticed the most was her piecing dark green eyes with a slight tint of blue in them.

"Get away from her", the girl growls.

Joel starts to stand up, clutching his wounded left shoulder. He girts his teeth, groaning in pain. As he stood up, he looked down to see a woman clutching the side of her head. Boy, he feels like an asshole, especially when he punched the woman in the face. He wanted to help her up, but he stops when he hears a click from the girl, ready to pull the trigger to shoot.

"I said get away from her", vemon slips passed her lips, so cold and threatening.

The girl wasn't fucking around and she means it. This was serious business. If he made one wrong move, it's going to be the end for him.

"Okay", Joel said. "Just take it easy."

Ellie stood there with wide eyes. She couldn't believe what just had happened. One moment, they were having a good time and now…there was a woman, lying on the ground and a teenage girl, threatening Joel with a gun in hand, ready to fire at any second.

The girl lowers her gun, being unexpected for the both of them. She puts her 9mm back in her holster. She got down on her knees, checking the woman to see if she is okay.

"It's alright", the woman whispers to her. "I'm fine."

The woman got herself up, now fully standing at 5'9. The woman's long, dark brown curly hair falls in front of her face as she brushes off the dirt off of her. She's wearing dark colored jeans, wearing her blue flannel covered with her dark brown vest. She was wearing blackish-brown boots with belts on the side of it. The woman has a perfect figure. She runs her hand threw her hair out of her face, looking at the two with dark blue eyes.

"I'm so sorry", the woman said to Joel apologetically. "I thought you were a bandit, I really am."

"It's ah", Joel starts out, carefully moving his hand from his wound. "It's fine. I would've done the same thing."

The woman slightly chuckles, looking away from him.

"I'm Heather", she said gesturing to herself. "And this is Attie."

She looks over at Attie; the teen's arms are crossed over her chest, giving her an unamused look. She doesn't want to stay here, they just want to get out of the way and get the hell out of there. It especially suit Attie when Heather talking to this asshole who try to beat her to death.

"Joel", he introduce himself. "This is Ellie."

Ellie made a slight nod to them. Her eyes fallen on Attie, who was staring right back. Her eyes brighten a bit, like as if she was never going to see another girl again. Attie completely dismisses it, looking away, avoiding her.

"So where are you two headin'?" Joel questions Heather.

"…We're trying to get through, head to Seattle. There's a safe quarantine zone up there, so… I figured, her and I can go up there and stay there, y'know."

"Tired of running then, I reckon", Joel said as he cross his arms.

"Yeah, you can say that", Heather said, nodding back.

He groans in pain as felt his wound throb; he clutches his shoulder.

"That looks like that needs fix", Heather said, walking up to him. "Move your hand."

He was hesitant but he did anyway. He looks at her as she examines his wound. She turns away to open her backpack, pulling out a tourniquet, and put pressure on his wound.

"This will be good for now. Put some pressure on it, you already lost enough blood as it is", Heather said zippering up her backpack. "Do you have ah a first aid kit or something?"

"No", Joel simply said. "But there's one back at the settlement not too far from here."

"So you live nearby?" Heather raises her eyebrow.

"Yeah, there's one back at our house", he said gesturing back at where they came from. "If you want to help me and…fix this wound, you two can come back with us, if you want."

"Yeah, yeah I like that", she said sincere.

"Heather", Attie scuffs. She gives her a look as she spread her arms out.

She left out a huff, looking up at Joel and pulls away for a moment. She walks to Attie and gently pulls her away, so they can have a private conversation. Joel and Ellie look at the two talking it out. They can't hear what they're saying, but they can tell Attie was objecting with the idea, giving a dirty look at Joel for a second, Heather pulling her chin to face her. She gives a sad look as she spoke. Attie's attitude starts to fade, calming down but still think it isn't a good idea to go back with them.

"Fine", Attie said, finally defeated. "Let's just go. I don't care anymore."

Heather was concern about her, she really was. She puts her hand on her shoulder, comforting her. She gave her a faint smile; Attie gave a quick one back, before shutting herself off from her and end the conversation.

"It's okay with her", Heather said fondly. "She has been through too much lately, with everything."

"It's fine", he said, giving her a small, sad smile. "Alright kiddo, you ready?"

Ellie looks over at Joel.

"Yeah", nodding up at him. "Yeah, I'm ready."

He nods at her, gesturing the two to follow him and Ellie back to the settlement.

* * *

**AN: OMG, I'm finally done! YAY! This is like the most I have written in like…forever, so to speak. Sorry if it took a while with this chapter but I want it to be good. So what do you think about my OC's? You bros like Heather and Attie? It may be a bit rough but I manage. Oh, BTW…I finally got my Ellie hoodie! :D The damn thing is so soft and comfortable, and it looks so badass. For some weird reason, I got another Ellie hoodie, so I'm like, "WTF am I gonna do with this?" So…on tumblr, I'm giving away my other Ellie hoodie. If you bros want it, go find brofistpewdiepie now and reblog my post. You can reblog it as much as you want until Saturday night at midnight. So, if you want it, go do it :P Well, imma gonna go and do my homework. I'll talk to you bros later. ;) *brofist***


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